DPCR5 Stakeholder Workshops 26 and 27January 2010 Report of stakeholder workshops in support of WPD Business Plan 2010-2015 Prepared by Green Issues Communications February 2010 CONTENTS 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 4 2. Stakeholder engagement ......................................................................................... 5 2.1 Stakeholder engagement – methodology ........................................................ 6 3. The Bristol stakeholder workshop .......................................................................... 8 3.1 Introduction and format ................................................................................... 8 3.2 Attendance ...................................................................................................... 8 3.2.1 Attendees – WPD and Green Issues ................................................... 8 3.2.2 Stakeholders – Table 1 ........................................................................ 8 3.2.3 Stakeholders – Table 2 ........................................................................ 9 3.3 Table 1 – Round table discussions.................................................................. 9 3.3.1 Theme 1: Ways to provide information and updates over the next five years...................................................................................... 9 3.3.2 Theme 2: What performance measures and other information we should publish? ............................................................................ 12 3.4 Table 2 Round table discussion .................................................................... 14 3.4.1 How can WPD provide pricing information to stakeholders? ............. 14 3.5 Stakeholder feedback .................................................................................... 15 3.5.1 Question1 – Did you find the workshop useful? ................................ 16 3.5.2 Question 2 – Was the venue conveniently located for you? .............. 16 3.5.3 Did we provide enough information for you at the workshop? ........... 17 3.5.4 Examples of comments received ....................................................... 17 4. The Cardiff stakeholder workshop ........................................................................ 19 4.1 Introduction and format ................................................................................. 19 4.2 Attendance .................................................................................................... 19 4.2.1 Attendees – WPD and Green Issues ................................................. 19 4.2.2 Stakeholders – Table 1 ...................................................................... 19 4.2.3 Stakeholders – Table 2 ...................................................................... 20 4.2.4 Stakeholders – Table 3 ...................................................................... 20 4.3 Table 1 – Round table discussions................................................................ 20 4.3.1 Theme 1: Ways to provide information and updates over the next five years.................................................................................... 21 4.3.2 Theme 2: What performance measures and other information we should publish? ............................................................................ 24 4.4 Table 2 – Round table discussions................................................................ 26 4.5 Table 3 – Round table discussions................................................................ 27 2 4.5.1 How can WPD provide pricing information to stakeholders? ............. 27 4.6 Stakeholder feedback .................................................................................... 29 4.6.1 Question1 – Did you find the workshop useful? ................................ 29 4.6.2 Question 2 – Was the venue conveniently located for you? .............. 30 4.6.3 Did we provide enough information for you at the workshop? ........... 30 4.6.4 Examples of comments received ....................................................... 31 5. Summary of conclusions ....................................................................................... 32 5.1 The provision of information to stakeholders ................................................. 32 5.2 Performance measures ................................................................................. 32 5.3 The provision of pricing information ............................................................... 33 6. Handout 1: Summary of the DPCR5 incentives and targets WPD propose to publish in a stakeholder annual report ............................... 34 7. Invitation letters ...................................................................................................... 37 7.1 Bristol 26 January 2010 ................................................................................. 37 7.2 Cardiff 27 January 2010 ................................................................................ 38 7.3 Joint invitation ................................................................................................ 39 8. Invitees ..................................................................................................................... 41 8.1 Bristol workshop invitees - councils ............................................................... 41 8.2 Bristol workshop invitees – stakeholders ....................................................... 41 8.3 Cardiff and Bristol invitees ............................................................................. 46 8.4 Cardiff workshop invitees – councils ............................................................. 48 8.5 Cardiff workshop invitees - stakeholders ....................................................... 48 3 1. INTRODUCTION Western Power Distribution (WPD) delivers electricity to 2.6m customers by taking electricity from the National Grid at 21 locations across the South West of England (all of the counties of Cornwall including the Scilly Isles, Devon and Somerset, and parts of Dorset and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (including Cardiff and Swansea, the South Wales Valleys, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and parts of Ceredigion in West Wales and Powys in Mid Wales). The company earns income by charging electricity suppliers who are responsible for sending out bills and reading the meters. WPD’s key activities are: Maintaining the network, delivering a reliable supply, restoring power quickly when faults occur, connecting new demand and generation across the region and reinforcing the network to cope with changes in demand. WPD is regulated by Ofgem (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets). Every five years, Ofgem, conducts a comprehensive review of the electricity distribution price control regime known as a Distribution Price Control Review or DPCR. The fifth distribution price control period (DPCR5) commences April 1 2010. Between 2010 and 2015 WPD is going to invest approximately £1,385m in the network. This represents a 30% increase in overall investment levels. There will be an annual increase in revenue in South Wales of 6.2% and an annual increase in revenues of 7.5% in the South West. The average increase in a domestic bill will be £5.67p.a in South Wales and £6.84p.a in South West In putting together their business plan for 2010 – 2015, WPD considered a number of factors including: new and existing legal obligations, the views of stakeholders, the provision of services in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way, new challenges such as climate change and the long term future to 2020 and beyond. WPD published indicative prices for suppliers on December 14th 2009. This is based on the allowed revenue shown in the Ofgem DPCR5 financial model issued on 7th December 2009. 4 2. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT In its DPCR5 Initial Consultation Document published in March 2008, Ofgem stated that each Distribution Network Operator should seek the views of its regional and local stakeholders on its high level business plan. WPD hosted stakeholder workshops in on July 17 and 18 2008 in Cardiff and Exeter (respectively). A summary of the conclusions of these workshops are shown section 5 of this document. As part of WPD’s ongoing stakeholder engagement on DPCR5, further workshops took take place on 26 and 27 January in Bristol and Cardiff (respectively). This document details the outcomes of these workshops as well as WPD’s methodology in ensuring that the range of consultees was broad and appropriate, that the consultation was meaningful and that information was made available in a user friendly format. Ofgem did not prescribe how the stakeholder engagement should be conducted. However, Green Issues Communications, who had facilitated the stakeholder workshops in July 2008, remained faithful to the set of parameters initially issued by Ofgem with regard to stakeholder engagement and carried out the second round of workshops in accordance with this. Green Issues Communications was asked to prepare a document that sets out its policy on engaging with its stakeholders, setting out the general principles that WPD should seek to follow. In developing the policy, Green Issues has examined the following: ¾ Why WPD wishes to engage with its stakeholders ¾ How it will identify its stakeholders ¾ How it will engage with its stakeholders ¾ What it will do with the feedback it receives This policy statement sets out the principles